Even absent a crystal ball to peer into, it seems safe to say that any changes the financial sector sees in the year ahead won't include a walk-back of anti-money laundering requirements.
Uncertainty emerged to be a theme in 2016 as early as January, when dozens of countries rolled back longstanding economic sanctions targeting Iran as part of the multinational Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The potential liability faced by bank professionals, particularly compliance officers, for regulatory violations has been a recurring theme at ACAMS conferences in 2015, and there's no reason to think it will be any less of an issue in 2016.
Despite the dress that changes colors depending on your eyes and the record-breaking sales of one recent example of nostalgic moviemaking, 2015 is more likely to be remembered by the financial sector for the tragic terrorist attacks that bookended it.
In the messy art of prognostication, everything is overly easy and nothing exact, not even compliance expectations. But one thing government officials and financial industry representatives seem certain of: 2015 will prove just as challenging as the past year for AML professionals.
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